The Story of Us
by water kisses
Summary: Just a little A/H story I cooked up. Sorry in advance for being a little sarcastic at times, but hopefully it's funny. Hopefully. **Updated and completed. Yay me!**
1. The smile that made me melt

  
  
  


Umm, this is just a little story I wrote a long time ago, but I'm just now thinkin' I can put it up here, so here it is. It might be more than a little OOC but just use your imaginations. It wasn't originally a HA story, so that's why. But anyway, as I said, the whole thing is already written, I just have to get it into HTML format, and I'll post as I go along, okie dokie? One more thing: I don't own HA, nor do I own Girl Scouts, nor their cookies..unless I buy them..which I do..but that's different. Ok, on to the story. 

  
  
  
  


"Helga! What is this?" Arnold asked, waving a paper around the air. 

  
  


"What is what?" 

  
  


"Oh c'mon, don't play dumb, I know you wrote it!" 

  
  


"I'm not playing dumb, I just have no idea what you're talking about," I said as a bobbed my head back and forth, trying to read what was on the paper. 

  
  


"I'm talking about this," he answered, shoving the fake love letter in my face. 

  
  


I laughed, and handed it back to him. "I guess you're not as dense as I thought you were. It sure didn't take long for you to figure out I wrote it." 

  
  


"Well how stupid did you think I was?" he asked incredulously, crumbling the letter into a ball and tossing it into the trash can. 

  
  


"Obviously a lot stupider than you really are," I replied, still laughing. 

  
  


"Did you honestly think I was gonna fall for it?" he asked, sitting down next to me. 

  
  


"One can't be too sure," I replied, shrugging. 

  
  


"This is the last time I give you my combo!" he yelled jokingly. I mean, he meant what he said, but he said it in a joking way. 

  
  


"That's what you said last year!" 

  
  


"But I mean it this time!" 

  
  


"Whatever," I laughed, turning back to my Thin Mints. 

  
  


"You're gonna regret this," he said as he stood up, "I'll get you back for this, just you wait." 

  
  


"Yeah, yeah. I'd like to see you try!" I yelled as he walked away. He just turned around and smiled at me, the smile that almost made me melt (but I of course didn't let it show, because that would just be, ya know, 'wrong') and kept walking. 


	2. I know how much watching basketball mean...

  
  
  


Hmm.. well, no I do not own HA.. no I do not own The Nutcracker.. on with the show. "Phoebe!" I yelled. "We have, like, thirty seconds before we have to be out there!" 

  


"Yeah, I know," she yelled back, "Is it my fault that the zipper's stuck?" 

  


"Whoa, whoa, too much information," someone yelled from the bathroom. 

  


"Mind you're business," I yelled back. "Now what's this about a zipper?" I asked, walking to the other side of the lockers. I met a very determined face, and almost burst out laughing, except that probably wouldn't help matters with Phoebe. 

  


"Could you help me with this please?" she sounded desperate, and I had to give in. She turned around and pulled her hair up. In case you haven't figured it out yet, the zipper was on the back of the shirt, dress, whatever. 

  


"How many times do I have to tell you, Phoebe, everything is your fault," I joked, referring to her earlier comment. 

  


"Shut up," she snapped back at me, laughing. 

  


"Got it! Okay, let's go." We ran over to the stage and started stretching with everybody else. 

  


So, I imagine this questionably queer guy with a beard saying "One, two, three, four and jump, six, seven, eight, and leap, (pause) and run, (pause) and spiiiin, stop." But that's just me. 

  


Anyway, so I am the lead, because this is my story, and Phoebe's just sort of in there somewhere. This is sort of a, umm... okay, ya know what, it's the Nutcracker. And I'm the girl who goes into that whole little toy world or whatever, and Phoebe's the SugarPlum Fairy. So I don't know a whole lot about The Nutcracker. Moving right along. 

  


So we had our practice, which just happens to be in the school gym, then we went back into the locker room to change into our regular clothes. I looked up at the clock and realized it was only two thirty, which meant we still had fifteen minutes before the bell rang (yes, this dance thing is a class. Sort of like how band is a class). Which also meant that we could go watch Arnold play basketball until we had to change again for Drill practice. Ah, we are social butterflies. 

  


"Hey Pheebs, ya wanna, um, watch the basketball practice?" I asked, trying to sound casual. Which was something I really shouldn't have done, because Phoebe knows Arnold is my best friend, and probably has a pretty good idea that I like him. I like him, in case you haven't figured that out yet. So trying to sound casual only made me sound even more uncasual, if that makes any sense at all. 

  


"No, not really," she answered. 

  


"Wha-why not?" I asked before I could stop myself. 

  


"Eh, I'm just not really in the mood." 

  


"Oh. Okay," I shrugged, trying not to look disappointed. 

  


"Helga, I'm kidding," she laughed. "I know how much watching *makes air quotes* 'basketball' means to you." 

  


I just rolled my eyes and shook my head, pretending to have no idea what she was talking about. I could have pulled it off it was someone other than Phoebe, but since it was Phoebe, she pretended she didn't know I liked him. Which was a nice thing for her to do, sort of something I would never do. I have to tease where teasing is due. 

  


We went out to the basketball courts where they had basketball practice. They couldn't go in the gym because that's where our dance class practice was held, so they used the outside basketball courts until two forty-five, at which point they migrated into the gym for the rest of practice. Of course, Arnold is just so darn good that even though he's a sophomore, he's already a starter on the varsity team. 

  


Arnold and I saw each other at the same time, and we waved to each other. He motioned for us to go play with them, but I shook my head. "You know we suck at basketball!" I told him. 

  


"Hey!" Phoebe nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. 

  


"Sorry. I suck at basketball," I corrected myself, then Phoebe and I both laughed again. 

  


Arnold shook his head and sighed, obviously confused by us females and our darn humor. We leaned against the fence on the side of the court and watched them play. Or more specifically, I watched Arnold play. And I'm sure Phoebe had her eye on someone. But at that moment, it wasn't at the top of my list of things to think about. 

  


The fifteen minutes passed quickly, and we heard the bell ring. Before I knew what was happening, Arnold had poured water on my head. Not really a lot, but enough to tick me off. 

  


"Told you I'd get ya back!" he laughed. 

  


"This is so different than that," I answered angrily. I looked to Phoebe for support, but found that she was laughing as well. I stormed off sort of angrily, but I think they knew I was joking. "You will pay for this!" I yelled a final threat as I walked to the locker room to change for drill practice. 

  


Moments later, the locker room opened to reveal Phoebe, still smiling from earlier. "C'mon, you know you're glad that happened," she told me, pulling her clothes out of her bag. 

  


I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, right," was the only comeback I could think of. I turned back to my own Adidas bag and took my kneepads out. 

  


"Why don't you just admit it, already?" she asked me. 

  


I was fully aware of what she was talking about, but I pretended I had no idea. "Admit what?" I asked innocently. 

  


"That ya like Arnold," she replied, using a tone that told me she could see right through my front. 

  


"Admit it to him?" I asked. That was something I was definitely not doing. 

  


"Well... yeah," she answered. 

  


"Uh-uh. No way am I doing that," I told her firmly. 

  


"Why not?" 

  


"Why do you think?" 

  


"Because you're a big coward and you're afraid of rejection?" 

  


"Precisely." 

  


"Helga, ya gotta get over this," Phoebe tried to convince me. "I mean, you've known the guy since pre-school, you'd think you wouldn't be as shy around him as you are." 

  


"You don't get it," I argued, "it's not that easy. There's so much more to it than that. If he didn't feel the same way, he'd probably avoid me for a while because he'd be uncomfortable. It'd screw up the friendship." 

  


"And what if he did feel the same?" 

  


"Then if we ever broke up, it'd screw up the friendship. So either way, the friendship's screwed, and what did it ever do to anyone?" 

  


Phoebe laughed slightly and shook her head. "I still think it's worth going for. Seriously, it seems to me that you haven't ever liked anybody else but him in... five years." 

  


"Technically, it's four and half," I retorted. Never mind that it was actually twelve and half. 

  


"Whatever! That's not the point. The point is, you're never gonna get over him, so just tell him how you feel." 

  


"Maybe," I said as I heard the door open again. 


	3. It has to be a dream

  
  
  


Well, I'm glad you all like this.. I basically have it written, except for one or two chapters in the middle (I actually knew where I wanted to go with this one, so I wrote the beginning and the end, but not the middle) so I'll update it more often than I've done with other stories in the past. I don't own Gatorade, k? Lol.. alright, here we go. "Okay, five minutes break." 

  
  
  


I smiled sort of evilly, and went off in the direction of the basketball courts. I spotted Arnold talking to some kid I'd never seen before, and took a very long route around the court with Phoebe in tow. 

I snuck up behind Arnold, and poured my entire bottle of water over his head. I ran off before I even had a chance to see his face, but I heard him yelling something I couldn't quite understand. 

We went back to the patio, and Traci looked at us oddly when we sat down against the wall, panting from running so much. 

"What happened to you?" she asked. 

I laughed, and told her the whole story, starting with the fake love letter, leaving out the part about me actually liking him. 

A few seconds passed far too silently, and I should have known something was up. I raised my eyebrows at Phoebe and Traci. They had both-as far as I knew-taken to seeming as inconspicuous as possible for no apparent reason. I was about to ask what was going on, when I was suddenly engulfed in icy water. I mean, literally, it was like I had jumped into a swimming pool. I was completely drenched. I knew the culprit, and as soon as the initial shock wore off, I ran away screaming at my attacker, vowing they would not get away with it and would have no time to bask in their glory of defeat, not even for a minute. I wondered how he had managed so much water at one time, and how it had been so freaking cold. (I'm doing so good not using curse words! Praise me. I really deserve it.) 

As I pondered this thought, I flew past an empty cooler-ya know those ones they put Gatorade and stuff in during football games? It looked rather out of place in the middle of the indoor hall, and I immediately came to the conclusion that it was what Arnold had used to soak me. I turned my attention back to the marathon. See, the problem with it was that we were both equally good runners-not to say that we were good runners, but I could never outrun him, and vice versa, so we basically would just keep running until we were both equally as tired Which meant that it wouldn't matter then that we had stopped, because I would be too tired to spring revenge on him. 

I pushed these thoughts away as he took me on a wild goose chase all the way around the gym, going out from the hall, around to the office, back towards the patio, across the 'west side,' and down the length of the field. He ran through center hall and to the left, up the stairs, along the front, and turning right again to go through south hall. Was I tired yet? Heck, yeah, and I was pretty sure he was too. But I could still push myself. 

Well, back to the marathon. I saw him run down the quad, then go back on the sidewalk a little before the new hall. He went back into center hall, but slid between a gap in the lockers. 

"So he thinks he can hide from me?" I whispered to myself as I ran towards center hall. "Where did he get that idea? That would never work!" 

I ran behind the locker where he was, and before I knew what was happening, he had pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I was... shocked to say the least. Pleasantly surprised, you can be sure, but shocked none the less. He finally pulled away and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I've just wanted to do that for a while, so I figured..." his voice trailed off and he shrugged, looking down at the ground. 

I could only stare at him. 'Could this be true? It has to be a dream... and I never want it to end.' But it wasn't a dream, it was very real. I was reminded of that by the quick beating of my heart and the gasps for breath I was taking, not only because Arnold had kissed me, but also because of the run we had just taken, and I noticed that he was having the same sort of problem. I took a few short, quick breaths, trying to steady myself. I noticed that Arnold had his hands in his pockets and was tracing something in the dust on the ground with his foot. 

After a few minutes, he spoke in a very low whisper. "Helga, I'm sorry. I just... I mean, we've known each other for too long for me to ruin things with this, and I'm sorry. Let's just forget it ever happened, and stay friends. Because I can't lose you as a friend, even if-" he stopped, as if he was thinking that he had said too much. "Do you think we can still be friends?" 

"No," was my quick response. He looked up at me and I actually saw hurt in those soft blue eyes. "Arnold, I can't forget this ever happened. I don't want to forget it ever happened. And don't be sorry, because you have no idea how long I've waited for this. Do you wanna know?" I cursed myself silently for opening up so much, so quickly. There was no way I was telling him that I'd liked him since I was three years old. "Since the first day of fifth grade, when Harold made fun of me and said I was big and ugly and annoying and mean and-" 

"I said I thought you were beautiful and sweet. And I meant it. That's about the time I started liking you, but I never told you because I was afraid of, ya know, screwing up the friendship and everything. Oh, yeah, and the idea that you wouldn't feel the same way was really restraining me." He paused for a minute and just looked at me, then he started laughing. 

"What's so funny?" I demanded. 

"You're soaking wet!" he exclaimed. 

"Don't act all innocent, you know what happened. You did it," I accused him. 

"Yeah, I know, sorry," he answered, more softly this time, but I could tell he didn't really mean it. "Aren't you cold?" 

"That's putting it lightly. I am beyond freezing." 

"Oh," came his reply, and he tightened his arms around me. 

"Finally," I whispered under my breath. Of course, he still heard me, I had my chin rested on his shoulder. He kissed my cheek in response, and I felt safe there with him. Even in the empty hallway of our school, with three surveillance cameras above us- 

"Oh, crap!" I said out loud. He pulled away from me a little, and looked at me questioningly. "There's, like, three video cameras in here," I told him. He just smiled and took my hand, walking me out of the hallway. "Oh, crap again! I need to get back to practice, Traci's gonna be seriously po'd." 

"Okay. So, uh, are we, ya know, together now?" he asked. 

"Do you want to be?" 

"Yeah, do you?" 

"Yeah." 

"Okay then." 

"Right." I turned to walk away. 

"Hey, uh, Helga?" he called to me. 

I turned around. "Yeah?" 

"We are together, right?" 

I laughed at his confusion with the conversation. "Yes, we're together," I answered. 

"That's what I thought. Okay, good." And with that, we both went in our separate directions. 

"Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence?" Traci commented, glancing up from the stereo to smile at me and feign disapproval. 

"Sorry, I, uh, got sidetracked," I apologized, giving Phoebe an 'I need to talk to you later' look. 

"Sidetracked right into a river," Lila commented, laughing. We just looked at her with deadpan expressions. "Uh... never mind." 

"Sure, Lila," I laughed. 


	4. 'Best friends'

  
  
  


Sorry, um, this chapter is kind of just.. well, dumb, so sorry about that. I guess that's all I have to say then, so here goes nothin 

  
  
  


"So, what's going on?" Pheebs asked anxiously as soon as practice was let out. 

"Huh?" For a second, I completely forgot the events that had just transpired. 

"Um... how did you get sidetracked?" 

"Oh, yeah, that! I can't believe I forgot!" At that, I launched into the whole story, starting with the dumping of the entire cooler of icy water. 

By the time I finished, Phoebe was practically jumping up and down with excitement. "Oh, this is so exciting! I always knew it would happen, I knew it. I mean, you had it coming." 

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little confused at the last statement. 

"C'mon, you don't honestly think it would ever be possible for a guy and a girl to be *makes air quotes* 'best friends' without something happening." 

"Well, it is possible, just not for us," I shrugged. 

"Yeah, whatever," Phoebe waved her hand at me and slung her bag over her shoulder. I did the same, and we walked out of the locker room. "Oh, this is so great! You guys are so cute together!" she was practically squealing. 

"Phoebe, calm down," I laughed, "you're more excited than I was!" 

"Nat-ur-all-y," she answered. 

"You know there's something wrong when your friend is happier than you are when you get a boyfriend," I stated. "There's something almost... desperate about that." 

"Shut up!" 

"It's true!" 

"Yeah, well... yeah!" 

  
  
  


So there it is. Yes, very dumb, huh? I'm sorry. It'll get better, as soon as I write it, I promise. 


	5. Tingle

  
  
  


Ok, now this chapter.. is not really a chapter.. it's like a filler. I'm hoping I can have a real thing up tomorrow, I'll try. Because this is the part I have to write. Mm k? So have patience with me. And try not to hate me for this chapter and the last one. Ok, here goes. 

  
  
  


I guess you could say that everything changed after that. I mean, how could it not? It wasn't like, the sun shined brighter, birds sang sweeter-nothing like that. Things did seem a lot better though. Here was this guy I was totally completely in love with, and it just so happened that he really liked me, too. I can't even begin to describe the emotion that ran through me everytime I thought about him. It sounds all gushy and sickeningly romantic, but it's true. And everything was different. When he smiled at me in the hall, when he brushed my arm with the back of his hand between classes, when he held my hand under the table at lunch-I felt this tingle go up my spine and my neck, sort of like I was really nervous, but in a good way. Because I wasn't nervous, I was just happy. And I knew, even at sixteen, that this was the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. 


	6. Close to me

  
  
  


Ok, this one is short and sweet as well. I know where I'm going with this story, but I'm in a weird place and I just need to get things moving along. I can either make long chapters few and far between, or short ones like this about.. once or twice a day. Whaddya think? 

By the way, this chapter is about two years later than the last one I posted, mm k? Ok, on with the show. 

  
  
  


"Where do you wanna go to college?" Arnold asked me. We were sitting on his bed, looking at the stars through the skylight. 

It suddenly struck me that graduation was only a few months away. I had been accepted to NYU, which was my dream. "Um..." This new's, however, I was afraid to tell Arnold. The thought of separating from him after high school was devastating. "I was thinking... someplace... in the east." 

"Really? Me too. I was thinking about going to Princeton," he told me, "but I don't wanna go anywhere that's too far from you to see you every weekend, at least, ya know?" 

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly, though I was smiling inside. 

"I got accepted already," he continued. "with a basketball scholarship. But I'll only go if you'll be close to me." 

After a moment of silence, I announced, "I'm going to NYU." There was no sound or movement for a few seconds, but then I felt the bed bounce beneath me, and suddenly Arnold's smiling face appeared above mine. 

"That's close enough to Princeton," he confirmed. I giggled and pulled him down to me. 

  



	7. I can't believe we're gonna live togethe...

  
  
  


Another stupid filler-kinda thing. I can't just jump into the good stuff, these things need somewhat of an explanation. 

  
  
  


"One bedroom... one bedroom... _three_ bedroom... one bedroom..." 

I was so deep in concentration, I jumped a foot in the air when the phone rang. I put one hand on my chest to calm myself before I picked it up. "Hello?" 

"Hey!" Pheobe's voice greeted me on the other end. "How's the apartment search going?" 

"Not too good," I replied. "I don't think two-bedroom apartments exist! I'm losing it here." 

"Yeah, it's about the same for me," she admitted. "I found _one_ two-bedroom, but it was like three thousand dollars a month! Can you believe that?" 

"Yes," I answered, looking down at the newspaper in front of me. "There's a one-bedroom listed here for four." 

She sighed. "Well, I guess we better get back to the search. We only have a few more weeks before we have to have this all set. I can't believe we're gonna live together!" she squealed. 

"If we ever find an apartment, we will," I commented sarcastically. 

"Oh, we will, don't worry. I should go though, I'll talk to later, Helga." 

"Okay, Pheebs, bye." 

I looked back down to the paper. My eyes fell on a two-bedroom apartment, which at closer inspection was definitely in our price range. I smiled and called Pheobe back. 

  
  
  


This chapter makes me want to cry, it's SO stupid. But you need it, otherwise Pheobe and Helga will all of a sudden be living together, and you'll be like "how did that happen?" 


	8. It looks just like the picture

  
  
  


Ok, things are *finally* moving along here. And guess what? This story is officially finished, I just have to format it, and I'll have it up in no time! Yay! Lol, ok, moving on. 

  
  
  


"I'm kinda nervous." 

"Me too," Pheobe said quietly. 

"Well, I'm not, hurry up and open the door!" Arnold called from behind us. 

"Yeah, come on, this box isn't getting any lighter!" Gerald added. 

"Alright, alright!" I slowly turned the knob and walked into my apartment. 

"Wow, it looks just like the picture," Pheobe commented, awe-strucken. 

"No kidding, Pheebs," I said mockingly. "What do you expect?" 

The place really was beautiful. The living room was, at least. It had polished wooden flooring and a high vaulted ceiling. Directly across from the door was a huge window that spanned the length of the wall. Our voices echoed loudly through the whole place since it was empty. 

Gerald dropped the box he was carrying with a load thud, startling us all out of our reveries. "Why am I the only one who brought anything up here?" he demanded. "Now let's get a move on, Arnold and I have things to do too, ya know." 

~*~ 

"You just had to get an apartment on the _twenty-fifth_ floor, the _top_didn't you?" Arnold said breathlessly. 

"It's the best," I said, smiling. 

"Not when you have to walk up every flight of stairs," Gerald whined. 

"That was your choice, honey," Pheobe reminded him. "Oh, no, we can't take the elevator. It can't support that much weight," she mimicked what he had said earlier. 

"Yeah, yeah..." 

We were all sitting against the wall in the living room, trying to regain our energy. We had hauled up every box and every piece of furniture we had brought to New York with us, and we were exhausted. 

"I never wanna do that again," Arnold announced. 

"Well that's too bad, because we're doing it again for _you_ guys," I replied. 

Arnold sighed and rested his head against the wall. "Oh yeah." 


	9. Last week's stale bread

  
  
  


Ok, this is me, trying to be an emotional person. I hope it works. 

  
  
  


I knocked hurriedly on the door of Arnold's apartment, eager to get out of the cold hallway. It was snowing outside, and since he lived on the first floor, the freezing draft came in every time someone opened the lobby door. 

Arnold opened the door almost immediately. "Helga, we have to talk," he said quietly. 

There was something about his tone that wasn't quite right. "Okay," I said cautiously. 

"I think..." he paused for a long time. I bit my lip and my whole body tensed. I knew what he was going to say even before he said it. "I think it's best if we don't see each other anymore." 

Yep, I was right. "Why is that best?" I asked, trying not to cry. 

"Because it is," he answered shortly. 

"That's not good enough, Arnold, and you know it. Is there someone else?" 

"No way. I'd never do that to you." 

And I believed him. After six years, I trusted him enough to believe him. "Then why?" 

"Helga," he began, sounding like he was about to beg for something. "Our lives are taking us in different directions. We'll both travel, and we'll never see each other." 

"That's never stopped us before," I interrupted. 

"That's because it hasn't really happened yet. But when it does, and we're out there..." he let his voice trail off, because he knew I knew what he was getting at. 

"But we love each other, isn't that all that matters?" I asked him. I knew I was going down-I knew I wouldn't win, but I wasn't going down without a fight. 

"It doesn't work that way." 

"But we work," I argued, "it can work for us." 

"No." That was all he said. It was like the final word to it. 

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. "So that's it? You're just giving up seventeen years, just like that?" I asked him, turning cold. I was hurt, and he knew it, but I still was trying to make him believe I was just angry. 

"I guess that's what I'm doing," he shrugged, looking intently at the floor. 

I couldn't believe the way he was acting-not at all like he was throwing away a seventeen year friendship. More like he was throwing away last week's stale bread. And that's what I felt like. I felt like last week's stale bread. Like everything we had been through together meant nothing, it was all just a fling or something. I bit my lip, hard, to keep from crying. I finally had to stop, because I could feel myself penetrating the skin. "Bye," I whispered. I turned to walk out, letting the tears fall freely now. 

"I'll see you around?" he asked. 

"Doubtful," I said coldly. 

"Can we still-" 

"No," I interrupted. "It doesn't work that way, remember?" 

Then I walked out. I left everything I ever needed. He was my life practically, and I would never even speak to him again. I had always been so strong. Now I couldn't do it, I couldn't be strong anymore. And the one person who could make me strong again was the reason I was crumbling. He was my stronghold, and he was leaving me to fall. 

I left my car there, because I needed to walk to blow off some steam. I decided to come back the next morning, when I knew he wouldn't be there. He would be at the gym by seven. Then he'd go to basketball practice, then to school. Then he'd come pick me up from my dance class and take me-no, that wouldn't happen. I was out of his life now. I meant nothing to him, even if he meant the world to me. 

And that was what I didn't understand. How he could he mean everything to me, and I was just last week's stale bread to him. How could he have been so much in love with me one day, and then the next day it was like I was some girl he had just met and not taken a liking to. Like I had never meant anything to him, and I had been totally oblivious of it the whole time. So much was going through my head that night, and it was driving me crazy. 


	10. I was boyfriendless

  
  
  


When I got home, there were three messages on my machine: 

"Hi sweetie. I just called to say hi, call me when you get a chance. I love you!" Olga. 

"Hi, it's me. If you get this, call me, if not, that's okay, I'll call back later. That's it." Dad. 

"Um, Helga, I need to talk to you. In person. Call me back, okay?" Arnold. It brought me to tears just thinking about it. I knew this would be a bad case of a broken heart. 

The door opened, and seconds later I heard Pheobe's voice ringing through the apartment. "Hey, how was your day?" she asked as she set her stuff down on the counter. 

"Horrible," I grumbled, wiping my eyes. 

Her eyes widened when she saw me crying, and she sat next to me on the couch. "This must be bad." I blew my nose in reply. "What happened?" 

"It's over," I said simply. 

"What's over?" she asked a little densely. 

"Me and Arnold. We're over." 

"What?" she asked, clearly shocked. "How.. but.. you.. how did this happen?" 

I shook my head slowly, as if in a state of disbelief, and started sobbing. "He said our lives were going in different directions and... that's it." 

"Don't worry, it's gonna be okay," Pheebs hugged me and spoke soothingly. "You're too good for him, Helga." 

"No," I shook my head. "No, I'm not. We're perfect for each other, why can't he see that?" 

"He's just scared. He's scared the distance will pull you guys apart. But nothing can keep you guys apart. He'll realize it too late." 

"It won't be too late," I stated, "I'll never find anyone else, and I'd never be able to reject him if he came back to me. Which he won't, because I'll never see him again." I started sobbing again. I didn't know how I'd be able to survive without him. 

We were interrupted by the phone ringing. I reached over and grabbed it, then handed it to Pheobe. She gave me a look like 'Why can't you answer it?' then said "Hello?" "Oh, hey Gerald.. um, actually, I don't think I'll be able to make it.. there's a little trouble over here." I shook my head to show I disapproved of her breaking off the date. "No, nobody's hurt.. physically at lea-" 

I grabbed the phone from her, cutting off her sentence. "Hey Geraldo?" 

"Oh, hey Helga. Uh, what happened to Pheobe?" 

"Oh, nothing, I just thought I'd say hi. Did you call to say you'd be late?" 

"Yeah, I was gonna meet her at the restaurant, but I called to tell her I'd pick her up because I got held up at work-well, not held up but-" 

"Yeah, no, I know what you mean. Listen, why don't you go ahead and pick her up?" 

"Well, she said there was trouble over there and I don't want to leave you alone..." 

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Just get here as soon as you can, okay? Pheebs can't wait to see you, I can tell." 

"Um, okay. Sure?" 

"Positive." 

"Okay, see ya soon. Bye." 

"Bye." I put the phone back on the receiver and turned back to Pheobe. She had been giving me disapproving glares the whole time I was on the phone, and now I gave her an innocent (fake) smile. "You seem angry, is there something wrong?" 

She shook her head. "You're crazy, you know that?" 

I shrugged. "It's never bothered you before. And besides, what did I do?" 

She scowled at me. "Why did you tell him to pick me up still? I want to stay here with you. You need to eat a pint of ice cream and watch crappy movies with a friend, not sit here alone to wallow in your self-pity. Maybe I should drag you along..." She looked thoughtfully skyward, pondering. 

"I can't barge in on your date. Besides, I'd feel.. boyfriendless." That was the first time I could actually say that in six years. I was boyfriendless. 

"You are-" she cut herself short when she realized that what she was about to say would hurt me. 

"Does Gerald have any friends?" I asked, putting on a (fake) sly smile. 

"Yeah.." Pheobe answered, being dense and not understanding the full meaning of what I had said. 

"Are they guys?" 

"Yeah.." 

Ugh. She's so completely dense. "Well, hello! Can you set me up with one of them?" 

"Oh! Already?" she asked, looking concerned for my sanity. "I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, you just broke up with Arnold. Don't you think you should wait, like, an hour at least?" She tried to make a joke out of it, and it almost worked. 

"No. I want a date now." 

"Okay, if you're so set on it. I'll call Gerald and see if there's anything he can do so last minute." 

Turns out, he couldn't. I forced Pheobe to go on her date-I practically threw her out the door-and 'wallowed in my self-pity'. I went to bed that night the earliest I could ever remember going to bed-eight thirty. My dreams were filled with Arnold. They weren't bad dreams, quite the opposite in fact. But somehow I knew, in the dream, that whatever was happening between us was going to end. 


	11. T.V. re-run

  
  
  


A short one again, sorry.. there's only like.. two chapters left after this! 

  
  
  


I woke up at four thirty the next morning and couldn't go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. So I went out into the kitchen and made some coffee, then went to the living room and stretched. Everything I did just seemed like a routine, like I was just going through the motions. 

I remembered the week after my mom died, how everything had just gone by in a blur. Though not nearly as serious, but still almost as devastating, that's how this was. I went through my day like it was a t.v. rerun, not really paying attention to anything I did, but having done it enough times before to just do it and not care. 


	12. Without him

  
  
  


Hm, k, well sorry I took, like, forever and a day to update, I was.. not here. Hopefully ya didn't notice.. but then that would be bad because... ahh, shut up! Ok, here. 

  
  
  


Six months had passed since that day, and nothing had changed. I was still as depressed as before, but no one really noticed. I covered it up really well, and nobody could tell anything was wrong. Pheebs had set me up with a lot of Gerald's friends, but there was always something wrong with them. They weren't Arnold. It was as simple as that. I compared them all to him, and they were all nothing. 

"So did you like Ethan?" Pheobe asked hopefully after one of our many double dates. Pheebs, Gerald, and I were sitting in our living room watching an I Love Lucy rerun. 

"Eh, he was okay I guess," I shrugged. "It didn't really seem like he wanted to be there at all." 

"Well, you were the same way," Gerald pointed out. 

"It's pointless," I said, biting into a chocolate chip cookie I had just baked. I immediately spit it back into a napkin. "Don't eat those," I choked out, pointing at the plate of cookies on the table. 

Pheebs and Gerald looked at me like I was crazy. "What's pointless?" Gerald asked, eying the plate of cookies. "Huh? Oh, all these set ups and blind dates. They don't make any difference. I'd rather be alone for the rest of my life than..." I trailed off and stared blankly at the t.v. 

"Than be without him?" Pheobe asked quietly. 

I just took another bite of the cookie, not even paying attention to the taste. "I've seen this episode before," I said absently. 


	13. Just rip my heart out

  
  
  


Here it is, the end! Finally.. or not. Um, k so yes, as I said.. the grand finale.. or something to that effect. 

  
  
  


"Helga." I froze, mid-carrot-cut, not daring to turn around. I could recognize that voice anywhere, and I couldn't believe I was actually hearing it. "Helga, I need to talk to you." His footsteps got closer and closer until I could feel him standing only a few feet away from me. I closed my eyes and silently wondered if I was possibly dreaming. 

I let out a bitter laugh, fighting to keep in the tears that were burning my eyes. "It's funny, the last time you said that you broke up with me. What could you possibly have to say now?" 

"Just.. just hear me out, okay?" I nodded. "Do you think you could, um, open your eyes?" I complied, and deliberately stared out the window, at the t.v, down at my hands-anywhere but at him. He sighed, then cleared his throat. "Listen, I've been thinking a lot about.. about us." He laughed a little sarcastically, and I looked over at him for the first time. He looked exactly the same. The only difference was his eyes, that seemed a little too sad. But besides that, he was still the same guy I fell in love with so many years ago. 

"How did you get in here?" I asked suddenly. 

"What? Oh." He lifted his hand and held up my house key. 

"Why didn't you give it back?" It was stupid, I know, but I was trying to have some reason to yell at him. 

He shrugged. "You never asked for it." 

I rolled my eyes. "So you've been thinking about us?" I asked, more softly and nicely than I had meant for it to be. "I thought there was no us." 

"That's exactly it." He did the sarcastic laugh thing again, then pulled a chair up to the counter, making a squeaking sound on the floor as he went. "I've been thinking that I made the biggest mistake of my life before. I regretted it the moment you said we couldn't be friends-" 

"Just shut up, ok?" I yelled at him, a little louder than I meant to. I couldn't believe he was doing this to me. So he regretted ever kissing me in the first place? Why didn't he just rip my heart out right then and there, it would've had the same effect. I told him so, too. 

"What?" He sounded absolutely incredulous. "I'm trying to fix this!" 

"Fix it? How is this fixing? You already destroyed everything, what are you trying to do now, add insult to injury?" I had tears streaming down my cheeks at this point, and everything seemed blurry, but I didn't care. 

"What are you talking about?" He asked the question so softly, so gently, that I felt that familiar flush on the back of my neck, the same flush I always used to get. "I'm not talking about that day in high school. That was the best thing I've ever done. I'm talking about breaking up with you. I knew it was the wrong thing to do even while I was doing it. I don't know what ever possessed me to do it, and I'm just hoping.. I just was wondering if.. if there's any way you would-" 

"Shut up," I said softly, wiping my tears away. He looked up at me questioningly, and I smiled. "Just kiss me." 

  
  
  


The end! Hm.. yes, the ending is rushed. Sorry =\... I'm not really good at drawing stuff out and using lots of detail and whatnot. And so, that's that. I hope it was ok.. 


End file.
